It’s been a while since my last update, so I thought I’d share some recent events…

TRUMPET REPAIRS

If you’ve seen pictures of my trumpet, you know it isn’t exactly in tip-top condition. There’s a sizable dent on the bell near the front brace and there’s a random assortment of smaller dings and dents scattered around the horn. The dents and the tarnished appearance don’t bother me, though. If anything, I think they give my trumpet some character. The only thing I’ve really wanted to fix on my horn is the valve action, since I have to oil them every couple of days or they’ll start to stick.

A couple of months ago, while taking my horn out of its case during my regular Thursday night jam session, I noticed that the front brace which connects the lead pipe to the bell had broken off. I think that was my trumpet’s way of telling me enough is enough -- fix me! Since it’s been a loyal companion to me for 21 years, and it only mildly punished me for leaving it in its case for 7 of those years, I decided it was time to do the right thing for my beloved trumpet. I’d have it repaired and restored to its former glory! So, I immediately procrastinated for a couple of months and then I brought it to one of the finest brass repair shops in the Southeast: Rich Ita’s Brass Instrument Workshop. All of the dents will be removed, the valves will be realigned, and it will have its first chemical cleaning since… well, ever.

My trumpet should be should be ready this coming Saturday. Until then, I’m playing one of Joe Gransden’s trumpets. It’s a great 1961 Conn Connstellation 38B that’s in fantastic condition thanks to Rich Ita. Joe plans on selling the Connstellation soon, so this is my opportunity to try it out and see if I want it as a backup horn. If I don’t buy it, you can expect to see it on eBay in the near future. Joe’s also going to be selling a pristine Mt. Vernon Bach, but that one’s going to be a little out of my price range. If you’re interested in either of these horns, let me know and I’ll tell you if/when they go on eBay.

Update 9/6/08: My trumpet is back from repairs. Rich Ita did a fantastic job!

I MADE THE MAC SWITCH

I’ve owned an underpowered MacBook for a couple of years now, but I didn’t do much on it aside from testing websites and other software. A week ago, however, my employer sent me a brand new MacBook Pro and I decided it was finally time to make the switch from PC to Mac. What does this have to do with jazz or ear training? Nothing at all. But, it does help to explain why I haven’t updated this site lately (that and my job has kept me very busy). It’s taken quite a bit of time to get everything setup on the new Mac (thank goodness for Parallels), and I still haven’t had time to figure out how I’m going to record new audio clips with the Mac.

The Mac is also relevant to this site because it’s forced me to pay more attention to how my free online ear training program works on a Mac. On my Windows PC, the ear trainer sounds awfully close to a real piano. On a Mac, it just sounds awful. Each note has an electric buzzing sound and the cymbals sound pathetic. I've also noticed audio delays and dropped audio on the Mac. While I’ve always known the ear trainer sounded and worked better on my PC, it wasn’t until now that I’ve felt compelled to deal with it. I fear that I won’t be able to find a Java solution to the problem. If that’s the case, I definitely haven’t ruled out the idea of creating a Mac-specific version of the ear training tool. But that’s not exactly how I’d like to spend my free time…

ATLANTA JAZZ SCENE – TWAIN’S

I know most of my readers don’t live in the Atlanta area, but I want to mention how fantastic the Tuesday night jazz jam sessions have been at Twain’s Billiards and Tap. The house band features some of Atlanta’s finest jazz musicians, with Joe Gransden on trumpet, Tyrone Jackson on piano, Craig Shaw on bass, and Chris Burroughs on drums. Each week the turnout has been incredible. By 10 or 11pm, the place is packed. One of the coolest things, to me at least, is the mix of people in the audience. The audience spans all ages with lots of college kids (definitely rare for jazz shows in Atlanta) and even entire families. If you live in the Atlanta area, do yourself a favor and check out the Tuesday night jazz jam session at Twain’s. Just be sure to stay past 10pm because you never know who will drop by as the night goes on.

Here’s what happened last week when Marcus Printup and Russell Gunn joined Joe Gransden on stage:

A few months ago I was introduced to the director of jazz studies at one of the local Atlanta universities. For the sake of anonymity, let's call him Joshua. The person making the introduction told Joshua that I have a website featuring Atlanta jazz musicians, Atlanta jazz clubs, and Atlanta jazz concerts. Joshua asked me for the name of my site, but when I told him the name he didn't recognize it. I then told him that I had written about several jazz events at his school and that he's probably seen my site when he does online searches for "Atlanta Jazz" topics. Once again, he said he wasn't familiar with my site. I certainly wasn't offended that Joshua didn't know about my site, after all there are lots of jazz-related sites out there and I don't expect everyone to know about mine. In fact, I probably wouldn't have given any more thought to our conversation until Joshua said, "You know, I never do any searches for jazz on the Web."

The more I think about Joshua's comment, the more it concerns me. As the director of a university jazz studies program, it's Joshua's duty to prepare his students for a career as jazz musicians. That responsibility shouldn't be limited to teaching them how to play music. For his students to succeed as professional musicians, they need to learn as much as possible about their local jazz scene, including the local musicians, clubs, and events. And most importantly, they need to learn how to promote themselves and their music. In today's world, the Web is unquestionably the most effective medium for accomplishing these goals. And certainly, it's becoming more important every day. I can't help but think that if Joshua isn't actively using the Web to find and disseminate information about jazz, there's a good chance his students aren't either.

I can't speak for other cities, but in Atlanta there aren't any printed publications that cover all of the local jazz musicians, clubs, and concerts. At best, newspapers simply announce national touring acts and a few local events. To truly know what's happening in the Atlanta jazz scene, you have to go online. And even there, you can't simply rely on a single website to tell you all there is to know. You have to continually search for information. Since Joshua isn't searching for jazz online, he and his students are probably out of touch with what's happening in the local jazz community.

Sure, some students will turn to the Web for information on their own, but I don't think their initiative should be taken for granted. As with all of the other important aspects of the jazz curriculum, jazz educators should take the lead when it comes to teaching students about the local jazz scene. Educators should give students a list of websites that feature local musicians, clubs, and events and they should continually search for new online resources so that list doesn't become stale. If you leave it to the students to find this information on their own, there's always the possibility that they'll miss some valuable piece of information and/or fail to make a connection that can help them in their careers.

A major part of your success or failure as a jazz musician stems from your ability to promote yourself and your music. I don't know what Joshua covers on the subject of promotion, but I'm fairly certain there's little discussion of online promotion. I base this on the fact that several of his graduates don't have any web presence at all (not even MySpace pages). Even though I see them play around town, I can't find any information about them online so I don't know where or when they'll be playing next. Consequently, there's a good chance I'll miss their next gig. Their lack of Web presence is odd to me since all of these graduates are young, having grown up in the Internet age. You'd think it would be natural for them to get online and at least create a MySpace page. But in most cases there's nothing. I can't help but think this is because Joshua and the other educators at his school never mentioned anything about online promotion. BTW, for more ideas on jazz promotion, check out my Atlanta jazz - promotion ideas article.

I know there are several music school students who read my jazz blog and use my ear training tools. Perhaps you could shed some light on this subject. What role does the Web have in your jazz education? Do your teachers refer to the Web as a place to learn about jazz in your community? Do they give you lists of musicians, clubs, and event-tracking websites? Is online promotion included in our jazz curriculum? If somehow the Web isn't a integral part of your jazz education, I encourage you to start a dialog with your teachers on this subject. Maybe you can school them for a change!

ONE MORE THING

This is a bit of digression, but somewhat related... Jazz students should regularly attend local jazz concerts (not simply national acts). I'd go so far as to say it should be a REQUIRED part of your jazz studies. I attend at least one or two Atlanta jazz concerts each week that feature local Atlanta jazz musicians and I rarely see students at these events. When I was their age I also didn't attend many local jazz concerts. It didn't seem that important to me at the time so I didn't bother. Looking back, I can see how foolish that mentality was. Attending local jazz concerts is a fantastic way to see what life will be like as a working jazz musician and it's a great opportunity to start networking with local musicians. Any one of them might be the source of future gigs and likewise you may need to call upon those local musicians someday to play at one of your gigs. Start learning about your local jazz scene today. See live jazz!

Emilio Solla, a jazz pianist from Argentina who currently resides in Brooklyn, was in Atlanta recently for a concert with the Emory University Big Band. While in town, Emilio joined Gary Motley, Emory's director of jazz studies, to host a jazz improvisation master class at Emory University.

I've attended a dozen or so master classes during the past few years, and while I've enjoyed all of them, most aren't especially educational. The guest artists typically answer audience questions, and they might make a few suggestions to the students about their playing (assuming the students play something), but there typically isn't a lot of actual teaching in these "classes."

On one level, I don't really care if there's any educational merit to master classes. The opportunity to hear master musicians play jazz in an intimate setting is enough of a draw for me. Throw in some interesting stories the golden years of jazz (e.g. Benny Golson's master class) and I'm thrilled just to be there. Obviously, though, the students at these master classes can really benefit from the educational aspect. Ideally, they'd come away from a master class with a new exercise, a new method of playing, or a new approach to music that propels them to a higher level in their own playing.

From an educational standpoint, I'd have to say that Emilio Solla's master class was one of the best master classes I've attended thus far. It was not only rich in content, but he really gave the students a workout that forced them to confront their own limitations. Here are some of the key points from Emlio Solla's master class:

THE MOST IMPORTANT SKILL FOR JAZZ IMPROVISATION

Early on, Emilio Solla asked the students to tell him the single most important skill they need in order to improvise. The students responded with predictable answers like "know your scales" and "learn the chord progressions." But none of these responses were what Emilio was looking for. In fairness to the students, this is a tricky question with a variety of answers. In fact, I was at a master class no too long ago where the guest artist asked a similar question and "know your scales" was the "correct" response.

When the students failed to provide Emilio's intended answer, Emilio told them that the most important skill for jazz improvisation is the ability to hear. Specifically, you need to be able to hear and identify what those around you are playing (if you're improvising with a group), and you need to be able to hear what you're going to play before you play it. In other words, you need strong aural skills. While the importance of strong aural skills is regularly discussed on this website, this was the first master class that I've attended where the message was really driven home. Ideally, every master class would have a discussion about ear training.

HEAR FIRST, THEN PLAY

Emilio Solla continued his discussion about the importance of aural skills by saying you need to hear first, then play. In other words, anything that you play should first be heard in your head so you know what it will sound like before you play it. Emilio went on to describe how most educational programs produce students who have this order reversed. They play first and then they hear. When I was a music student in college, I was one of these students myself. I was just rambling through pre-learned licks and so-called "safe" notes. I didn't even know what those notes would sound like until they came out of my horn. To truly make music, however, I needed to be able to hear the ideas in my head and I needed the ability to play those ideas by ear on my instrument. Again, strong aural skills are the key.

SINGING CHORD CHANGES

After the discussion about hearing, Emilio Solla put the students through their paces by having them sing through the chord changes to "What Is This Thing Called Love," a tune which the students had already been working on. They began by singing the root note to each chord change. It was pretty obvious that the students hadn't tried this before because they had a hard time moving from one pitch to another. As if singing the roots wasn't hard enough on the students, Emilio next asked them take turns singing the chord tones (1,3,5,7) for each chord.

Singing through the chords like this has (at least) two important benefits. First, it's great ear training practice. By training yourself to hear and sing the sounds of each interval and chord, you're internalizing the pitches and the sounds of jazz. This familiarity will improve your ability to hear and play the ideas in your head. Incidentally, my ear training tool has a "Sing: No Play" mode which allows you to sight sing all of the exercises.

The second important benefit of singing through chord changes is the familiarity you'll develop with a tune. When learning a new tune, Emilio Solla always starts by singing through each of the chord changes. Next he sings the melody. By the time he's finished, he has a much deeper connection with the tune than if he simply sat down and read through the changes. This deeper connection may very well be the difference between playing a boring solo and creating spectacular music.

NOTE-LIMITING SOLOS

After the students sang through the chord changes, Emlio Solla asked them to play solos using just the chord tones (1,3,5,7). Note limiting exercises like this can be very liberating and challenging at the same time. The liberating part comes from the fact that you don't have to worry about selecting from all 12 notes. With only 4 notes to choose from (over each chord change) you can focus more on making music and less about note choice. This can be rather challenging for some people, though, especially if you normally play a lot of pre-learned licks and patterns in your solos. You'll actually have to come up with some new ideas for once!

RESIST THE URGE TO SHOW OFF

Throughout the master class, Emilio Solla stressed the importance of creating music in our solos. He's very critical of players who show up to gigs with an arsenal of pre-learned licks and patterns. While these players might sound impressive to some, they're rarely saying anything worthwhile in their solos. To caution us from becoming one of these jazz robots, Emilio made the interesting suggestion of using restraint over our "easy" chords. For example, if you're really strong in the key of C Major and you see that chord change coming up, don't view it as an opportunity to show off. Most likely, that showoff portion of your solo won't fit in with the rest of your solo and you'll end up with an incoherent mess. Instead, make sure that whatever you play augments the rest of your solo, elevating the overall musicality. And remember, sometimes the best thing to play is nothing at all.

PIANO DUET

At the end of the master class, Emilio Solla and Atlanta jazz pianist, Gary Motley, treated us to a wonderful mini-concert. Here's a video clip of them performing "Stella By Starlight." Enjoy!

A couple of days ago, I watched the HBO documentary, "The Leopards Take Manhattan: The Little Band That Roared." The documentary follows the Louisville Leopard Percussionists from their rehearsals in Louisville, Kentucky, to their performance at the 2006 International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE) conference in New York, where they opened for Chick Corea, Eddie Gomez and Jack DeJohnette. Opening for Chick Corea at the IAJE conference would be an outstanding accomplishment for anyone, but it's even more remarkable when you consider that the Leopards are all children, ages 7-12!

Led by the award-winning elementary school teacher Diane Downs, the Louisville Leopard Percussionists group is comprised of about 45 children who perform jazz tunes on a variety of instruments including the marimba, xylophone, vibraphone, drum set, timbale, conga, bongo and piano. Before you read any further, listen to this audio clip of the Leopards playing Caravan . Pretty good, eh? You might be thinking this is a super group of especially gifted children, but it isn't. They're just average kids with normal backgrounds, yet they've come together to create exceptional music thanks to the superb tutelage of Diane Downs.

The most fascinating part of the documentary, for me at least, wasn't what these children could play, but rather how they learned to play it. Following are some key points:

LISTEN FIRST

In the documentary, we watch as the students learn the swing classic, "Sing, Sing, Sing." Before doing anything, they sat down together and listened to a recording of the tune. This might not sound like a big deal to some of my readers, but it's definitely a big deal to me. In the eight years that I spent in middle school, high school, and college bands, I don't recall ever listening to a recording of a tune before trying to play it. And if it did happen, it certainly didn't happen more than once or twice.

Why is listening to a recording so important? It's simple: you can't capture music on paper. Take a swing rhythm, for example. Think of all the complex phrasing, accents, inflections, and other stylistic elements that go into a swing rhythm. You could try to squeeze all of that stuff onto a piece of paper, but if the person reading it hasn't ever heard a swing rhythm it won't sound right at all.

Since the Leopards always listen before trying to play music, they begin with a firm understanding of how the music should sound.

LEARNING BY EAR

The Louisville Leopard Percussionists don't use any written music. That's right, all of the music they play is learned by ear. In the documentary, Diane Downs echoes Suzuki's argument for learning by ear. The saying goes: just as people learn to talk before they learn to read, they should learn to play music (by ear) before they learn to read music. I certainly agree with this statement. I also believe that mainstream music education is teaching people how to read INSTEAD of teaching them how to play music, since most music students can't play anything unless it's written down. I don't want to get too carried away on that subject (read this ear training article for more), but I did find it refreshing to hear that the Leopards are learning music by ear. I think the result of that training speaks for itself.

EMPHASIS ON RHYTHM AND PHRASING

In my Learning to Improvise series, I discuss the importance of rhythm and phrasing in jazz improvisation. In short, without good rhythm and phrasing, any group of notes will sound boring and lifeless. While it might seem natural that a percussion group would have a better grasp on rhythm than your average middle or high school band, I believe the Leopards have a leg up due to the way that they learn rhythms. When learning rhythms, the Leopards sing their rhythms aloud, adding words to the rhythms so they internalize both the rhythm and the phrasing of those rhythms. Since they've all practiced the same rhythm and phrasing, they are more cohesive when it comes to group performance. Their emphasis on rhythm and phrasing also carries over to their improvised jazz solos. These young children have a better grasp on rhythm and phrasing than many of the students I've heard in college jazz programs!

PRIDE OF OWNERSHIP AND TEAMWORK

As stated on Diane's page of their website, Diane lets the children experiment and come up with their own parts. This gives them ownership of the music, which in turn helps them to care more about the program and each other. For instance, if one child is having trouble learning something, another will gladly help them to learn the part, offering positive reinforcement along the way. The children know that as a band, they're all in it together and every member is as important as the next. Clearly these children aren't just learning about music, they're also learning tremendously valuable lessons that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

I definitely encourage you to watch this documentary the next time it's aired, especially if you're involved in music education. With music programs shutting down left and right, it's inspiring to see what can still be done.

VIDEO CLIPS

These clips aren't from the documentary, but they do give you some greater insight into the program.

The above clip is a promotional video for the Louisville Leopard Percussionists group.

This clip was shot by one of the Leopards' parents during their 2006 IAJE performance.

Legendary jazz saxophonist, Benny Golson, was this year's featured guest at the 2008 Emory University's jazz festival. Benny Golson has performed and recorded with just about every major jazz artist from the 50's and 60's, including Dizzy Gillespie, Art Farmer, Art Blakey, Curtis Fuller, Charles Mingus, and Sarah Vaughan. Benny Golson is also tremendously respected for his work as a composer. In fact, he's the only living jazz musician to have written eighth jazz standards: Killer Joe, I Remember Clifford, Along Came Betty, Stablemates, Whisper Not, Blues March, Are You Real?, Five Spot After Dark.

Like previous guests of Emory University's jazz program, Benny Golson participated in two master classes that were free and open to the public. The first master class was with Emory's jazz improvisation class and the second was more of a lecture format. I've attended both types of classes in the past (Kenny Barron, Wessell Anderson, Jon Hendricks), but this year I could only attend one so I opted for the improvisation master class.

The Benny Golson masterclass was a great mix of music and discussion. Benny Golson played three or four tunes with Gary Motley (the director of jazz studies at Emory) on piano, Paul Keller on bass, and Pete Siers on drums. Paul Keller and Pete Siers both live in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and for the past few years Gary Motley has had them come and play with the guest artist. It's always great to hear them play and it's also been interesting to hear how they complement different artists.

Following are my notes from this year's masterclass with Benny Golson:

LEARNING JAZZ BY EAR

Benny Golson learned to play jazz by listening to jazz recordings. He and his friends would listen to recordings and learn the melodies and solos by ear. Oh, I should mention that these friends included Jimmy Heath, Percy Heath, John Coltrane, and Red Rodney (to name a few!). That experience of listening to music and learning by ear no doubt helped all of those musicians to develop great ears for music. It's too bad that learning by ear isn't a major part of music education today, especially during the first years of playing an instrument. Oh well, at least it's never too late to start ear training.

SLOW IS BETTER THAN FAST

Many aspiring jazz musicians believe that the pinnacle of jazz improvisation is the ability to play fast. That assumption makes perfect sense, especially when you consider how challenging it can be for a beginner to play a jazz solo at any tempo. Being able to play fast, however, isn't necessarily an indication of jazz superiority. For example, when people play fast there is usually a greater tendency to fall back on pre-learned jazz licks/patterns because there's less time to think of new ideas. Once you get enough of these licks under your fingers, it's actually pretty easy to string them together. Also, when playing rapidly you can play a lot of "bad" notes in your solo and they'll go by so quickly that most people won't even notice. With the high incidence of pre-learned licks and bad notes, a fast solo may simply obscure poor or uninspired playing.

Slow tempos, on the other hand, reveal every nuance of a musician's solo and therefore represent a true test of a musician's capabilities. If you play a ballad at a slow tempo (not double time), each mistake is painfully obvious. It's also readily apparent whether you're playing interesting ideas vs. a flurry of random notes. Benny Golson summed up the dichotomy between slow and fast when he said, "Good isn't playing fast. Good is playing slow."

Gary Motley continued the discussion about slow tempos by telling us that his students learn new tunes by playing them as ballads. The slow tempos allow the students to lock in on the chord changes and better hear the relationship between the melody and underlying harmonies. Gary Motley then sat down at the piano and played "There Will Never Be Another You," a jazz standard that was originally written as a ballad, although it's typically played up-tempo. I had never heard this tune played at such a slow tempo and I was amazed at how refreshing it was to hear each chord change resonate and linger before moving on the next change. While playing the tune, Motley played a couple of wrong notes in the melody. As soon as he played the notes, he heard that the intervals weren't quite right and he corrected himself. Gary's a fantastic jazz pianist and it's possible that he intentionally messed up to illustrate a point, but it was evident that slower tempos make it easier to hear each note and therefore make it easier to identify how things should sound.

IT'S BETTER TO BE HUMBLE

As I mentioned earlier, Benny Golson has played with just about every fantastic jazz musician of his time. Occasionally, one of these great jazz musicians would let their success and abilities go to their heads. In one of Benny Golson's early bands he played with one such musician. This musician thought the world revolved around him and that everyone else was beneath him. As Golson put it, that attitude was like poison to the band and caused all sorts of tension among the musicians. Benny Golson was eager to get out of that situation and finally had his chance when he landed a spot in Dizzy Gillespie's band. Golson was in awe of Dizzy and couldn't believe how fortunate he was to play in his band. After one performance, Golson went up to Dizzy and told him how much he admired his playing. Instead of beaming with pride, Dizzy, clearly embarrassed by the attention, responded by saying "Oh, that wasn't anything." Impressed by Dizzy's humility, Golson has tried to keep a level head throughout his career regardless of his success or stature. And as he later stated, no musician ever wakes up and says "That's it! Now I know everything there is to know." Even after playing his instrument at the top of his field for 50 years, there's still plenty more for him to learn.

Benny Golson told several more anecdotes about the musicians he grew up with and his early days as a jazz musician. I always enjoy hearing these types of stories myself so I thought I'd pass a couple more along.

HE REMEMBERS CLIFFORD

One of Benny Golson's more popular compositions is the ballad "I Remember Clifford" which Golson wrote shortly after he heard that jazz trumpet genius Clifford Brown died in a car crash. Prior to that tragic event, Benny Golson was friends with Clifford Brown and got to hear him play many times. On one such occasion, Clifford Brown was playing at a nightclub in Philadelphia. This nightclub frequently had top players from New York join the band and on this particular night trumpeter Fats Navarro was scheduled to appear. Fats Navarro was running late, so when he finally did arrive Clifford was already on the stage playing. As soon as Fats heard Clifford Brown playing, Fats was in awe and asked, "Who is that guy?" Fats Navarro then joined Clifford Brown on stage and the two commenced in the fiercest trumpet battle that Benny Golson had ever heard. After the two trumpeters finished playing, it was the alto saxophonist's turn to take a solo. Stunned by the brilliant playing of Clifford Brown and Fats Navarro, the alto player simply stood up there and played the tune's head over and over again when he should have been playing a solo. In his 50+ years as a jazz musician that was the one and only time he'd ever heard anyone that afraid to play.

WHO WAS THAT?

While in high school, Benny Golson often had local musicians come over to his house to listen to music and play jazz. Golson's mother always stayed upstairs while the kids played jazz. She never came downstairs to listen to the music, nor did she bother to see who was playing. Well, one day a friend of Golson's told him about a young saxophonist who played a great version of "On the Sunny Side of the Street." Golson invited the saxophonist over and sure enough he was really good. Just as soon as he finished playing, Golson's mother came downstairs and asked, "Who was that?" Golson replied, "He's a new friend. His name is John Coltrane." Golson laughed as he said, "All those times that my friends and I were playing downstairs she never once cared to come down, and then John Coltrane comes over and all of the sudden she's interested. How's that supposed to make me feel?!"

When people find out that I play jazz trumpet, they almost always ask if I play anywhere around town. I typically respond telling them that I'm not very good and that I've still got a long way to go before I play in public. And that's how I've felt since returning to the trumpet in 2002. I'm still in "development mode".

If you read my review of the 2007 Atlanta Trumpet Festival, you know that I finally did play the trumpet in public for the first time, as a member of the adult ensemble. It was primarily an educational event with little pressure, so it was easy for me to give it a try. Although I enjoyed playing at the Atlanta Trumpet Festival, it wasn't exactly a big confidence boost for me. I struggled to play some of the parts and I made some mistakes during the performance. If anything, it reinforced my belief that I'm not ready to play jazz in public.

When I talk about playing jazz in public, I don't mean playing gigs. Playing gigs is really of no interest to me, thanks in large part to all of the coffee shop gigs I played in college. Some musicians don't care if the audience isn't paying attention to them and they don't mind (too much) if they're playing to an empty house, but it always bothered me. So, no gigs for me. I would, however, like to someday become good enough to play jazz on a regular basis with other people, in a relaxed environment. Ideally, I'd find a group of musicians and we'd play jazz at somebody's house where there's no pressure to play well and there's no audience to please. All that matters is that the vibe is good and that everyone's enjoying the music. But, like I said, I'm not ready to play in public yet, so even a low-key jam session is many years away. At least that's what I thought until the guy in this photo came along...

About a week ago, I received a fairly long email message from a visitor to my jazz blog (I hope he enjoys this 1970 photo of him that I dug up online). Like many of the long messages I receive, it began with his personal background. He told me he's been a musician for 40+ years and that he and some friends have been playing jazz at his house every Thursday night, for the past few years. As he described it, they're a "rehearsal band" that plays together "simply for enjoyment." Oh, and he lives in Atlanta. I was halfway through the message and figured he was just going to ask me a question about the local Atlanta jazz scene or something like that. And then it hit me… he's inviting me to play in his band.

My first reaction to his invitation was: how am I going to get out of this?! I've still got years of ear training and trumpet fundamentals in front of me. I'm definitely not good enough to play jazz with other people yet! I was all set to politely refuse his offer but for some reason I decided to wait before responding. Later that night, I told my wife about the email and her first response was "Do it." I tried to think of some excuses, but I couldn't come up with anything compelling enough. I couldn't even use the old "it's too far" excuse since he lives only 3 or 4 miles from my house (Atlanta is really spread out, so "it's too far" is often a perfect excuse to get out of just about anything). Unable to come up with any good excuses, I replied to his email and accepted the offer to sit in with his band.

Driving up to his house this past Thursday for my first jam session, my mind was filled with all sorts of worst-case scenarios. What if I get lost in the chord changes? What if my chops blow out after five minutes? What if I'm the worst one there and they laugh at my playing? What if this is all just an elaborate setup and I'm about to be held ransom by a diabolical crime ring that uses their knowledge of jazz to prey upon unsuspecting jazz blog writers? It's a good thing I hadn't yet seen that 1970 photo. He looks like trouble with a capital "T" in that Davy Crockett jacket ;-)

When I arrived at the house, I was greeted by the bass player (Davy Crockett). He then introduced me to the guitarist and the drummer. Everyone seemed really friendly, so I was able to rule out the "crime ring" scenario pretty quickly. I was still pretty nervous, though. With just four of us there, we began playing a blues-based tune. Unsure of myself, the first chorus of my solo was lackluster but I held on and continued for 2 or 3 more choruses. With each successive chorus I loosened up and my playing improved noticeably. By my last chorus I was playing better than I had expected to play the entire night!

After playing a couple of tunes as a quartet, the violinist and alto saxophonist arrived. We played a few more jazz standards including "Well You Needn't," "Blue Monk," and "Stolen Moments." To my surprise, my range and endurance held up really well. In fact, I played at least half a dozen C's above the staff at full volume during my solos. I can't even do that during my practice sessions at home! The guys were very supportive of my playing and offered several complements. I suppose they were being a little extra nice since I was the new guy, but I do think they genuinely enjoyed my playing. In any case, I thought it all went really well and I had a blast. I had totally forgotten how fun it is to play jazz with real live people.

Is this the start of a new chapter in my musical journey? It's probably too early to tell, but it was definitely a great experience and also a good indication that maybe I am ready to play jazz with other people!

I'd like to say a special thank you to "Davy Crockett" (his real name is Rick S.) for inviting me to play with the group, and to the other musicians for welcoming me into their band. I'm looking forward to many more Thursday nights.

Today I stumbled upon a couple of good articles about jazz improvisation, ear training, and transcribing at pianologist.com. I especially enjoyed their Essense of Jazz article. In the article, they explain the importance of ear training in jazz improvisation, and also touch upon the difference between being able to play the ideas in your head and simply using theory to run through changes. I've discussed these concepts quite a bit on this site, so it's great to see that others are similarly getting the word out. They've also done a nice job of including video clips to reinforce key points.

RECOMMENDED PIANOLOGIST ARTICLES

• Essence of jazz
• How to transcribe, and the benefits of doing it.